Cleveland Cavaliers: How Will LeBron James React To Playing Second Fiddle?

Did you catch the fantastic game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs the other night? It was a fascinating watch for a number of reasons. There was the history between LeBron James and the Spurs. The Cavaliers and the Spurs. Kawhi Leonard and LeBron. There was a lot going on.

That we were treated to a thrilling contest that went to overtime was even better. Is it just me though, or did we get a glimpse into what the future might look like for Cleveland as well?

James played really well in the come-from-behind win, pouring in 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting to play a big part in the win. Leonard, who guarded him so valiantly in last year’s NBA Finals, had no answer for The King on a number of possessions down the stretch. Also worth noting, and it’s a conversation for another time, was how much of a pedestrian Kevin Love was in this game.

He had eight points and more worryingly, five rebounds. That’s one less than Iman Shumpert had in the game. The Cavs are rolling right now, and when you’re winning your flaws are hidden, but Love simply needs to produce more for this team. He was brought to Cleveland to be one of the contributing pieces to a championship puzzle, but so far he’s failed to live up to that tag.

Kyrie Irving on the other hand, played like a true superstar. His 57 points was the most scored by a player this season in the league, and he was a sizzling 7-for-7 from downtown. As for the degree of difficulty of some of those shots, check them out for yourself.

That may have been the best game I’ve ever seen the point guard play in the league, especially in what was a playoff atmosphere game. He also got the better of a future Hall of Famer in Tony Parker. But it got me thinking to the bigger picture and also the future of this team. Irving’s display overshadowed how well LeBron played and that’s fine.

But at what point does this become Irving’s team again the way it was his first few years in the league?

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You may remember a little while ago, James said he’d come off the bench if it meant this Cavaliers team could win games. I believe the guy, he’s always been a team-oriented superstar who made those around him better.

He’s the man, he knows he’s the man, but he also understands that it takes more than one star to win big in the NBA (just ask Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett in Minnesota the first time and a whole host of others).

Actually putting those words into practice though would be a lot more difficult, and Wednesday’s game was a look into how the future might look. James congratulated Irving after the game and seemed thrilled his teammate had produced that kind of performance to pull out the win.

That sort of help James did not have his first time in Cleveland, and it’s got to be comforting to know that he has sufficient talent around him these days.

But that was just one game. LeBron is 30 now, and while still in his prime, he’s getting no younger. Irving on the other hand continues to improve (although he needs to become a better defender) and is already used to being the go to guy on this team. He took a back seat when James arrived as he was supposed to.

But it could be time for him to return to the driver’s seat again sooner rather than later.

We saw in Miami with the Heat that it took franchise cornerstone Dwyane Wade roughly a year to realize he had to defer to James in order for the team to win big. Once that happened, the team won two titles, with Wade occasionally reverting back to his dominant self to produce big games when the team needed it most.

Although that time isn’t here yet for James and this team, it is something he will have to do for the good of the team at some point.

If you look at the Spurs game (a tiny sample size, granted) it’s certainly not going to be a bad thing when that happens. Ironically, this team could actually be even more successful now if James took that back seat sooner. This is the era of the point guard, and Irving is one of the best in the league.

You could say he has the best handle in the NBA (although I’m giving that accolade to Stephen Curry) and his scoring output is second to none.

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If Irving saw more of the ball while James defended the opponent’s best player and chipped in with rebounds, points and generally covered all other areas of the game, this team could actually flourish even more.

It’s kind of strange to talk about, LeBron being the second option on an elite team, but we have seen from the Spurs game how that could actually work out really well for Cleveland.

The likes of Kobe Bryant and his wildly competitive spirit have probably hindered his chances of being on a better team at this late stage in his career. It’s his way or no way at all, and when you look at what he’s achieved, he’s allowed to think that way. Had he deferred to a younger star though, maybe he’d be coming back from injury to a contending team.

James is not quite at that point yet, but for one game this week, we got a small glimpse into the future. Kyrie Irving was the star of the show, with LeBron having a brilliant game as well. Clearly it was Irving’s night though, and that’s something that James will have to get more used to the older he gets.

It seems so strange to be talking in this way, James isn’t over the hill or anything, but he will have to change his approach eventually to remain competitive in this league. He’ll probably always been the one opposing fans want to get to the most though, as this young fella showed at the game.

So this was a cool game to witness. Not exactly the passing of the torch, but more the lending of the torch for one night on a trial basis to see if the younger star could deal with having it full time in the future. I have no doubts LeBron will eventually defer to Irving when the time comes, and do it without any hassle.

We won’t know for a while yet, and until it happens there will always be the chance James takes the Bryant route and remains the main man no matter what.

I have every confidence LeBron will handle the situation the right way, ensuring that nights like Wednesday become a much more common occurrence. Will Kevin Love still be a part of the team then? Hard to tell, but judging by the game against San Antonio, it might not even matter, his contributing was that small.